"Twitter has arguably become a husk of its former self since Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform in 2022, which he rebranded X. The takeover and the controversial changes imposed by Musk led to an exodus of advertisers, which now includes himself. Tesla only spent $10,000 on X ads over the first two months of 2025, according to an SEC filing. Over the same time period in 2024, the Musk-led automaker spent $200,000 on advertisements on the platform."
"TechCrunch reported that the automaker spent far more money on services from other Musk-related companies. Tesla spent $800,000 to use one of SpaceX's private jets last year. However, the figure was reduced to only $40,000 through February. It appears that Tesla's sales slump may be affecting how the company operates. A 13% drop in deliveries through the first half of the year isn't something that can be ignored."
"In 2023, he claimed that these advertisers were trying to blackmail him with money, then publicly told the companies to "go f**k" themselves for refusing to buy ads on the platform. According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon and several other companies signed ad deals with X to avoid legal action. Musk would later walk back his comments because it's not the most brilliant move to actively antagonize the entities you're trying to sell ad space to."
Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and rebranded it X, prompting a departure of advertisers. Tesla reduced its X ad spend to $10,000 in the first two months of 2025 from $200,000 over the same period in 2024. Tesla also reduced payments for SpaceX jet use to $40,000 through February after previously spending $800,000. Tesla reported a 13% drop in deliveries in the first half of the year. Musk publicly antagonized advertisers, accusing them of blackmail and using profane language, while some companies signed deals with X to avoid legal action.
Read at Jalopnik
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